Herbs

European Parliament refuses to approve European Medicines Agency accounts

Adam Smith
Science and Communications Officer, ANH-Intl
KEY POINTS

European Parliamentarians have refused to sign off the European Medicines Agency’s accounts, citing “grave” concerns
The MEPs are worried about the Agency’s lack of independence from pharmaceutical companies
The Nordic Cochrane Centre accuses the Agency of working to protect pharmaceutical profits
This is among several signs of MEPs increasingly questioning aspects of the European Union’s stance aspects relating to natural healthcare

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have bared their teeth in no uncertain manner over the independence of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the body entrusted to determine the safety and effectiveness of drugs in the European Union (EU).

In a damning indictment of the EMA, of the type many people had despaired of ever witnessing in the closed environment of the European Parliament, an overwhelming majority of MEPs – 637 to 4! – voted not to sign off on the EMA’s accounts.

MEPs said that there appears to be no proper guarantee of the independence of experts hired to carry out scientific evaluations of pharmaceutical drugs. Furthermore, MEPs believe that some of the experts involved in evaluating drugs have conflicting interests and that the EMA’s hiring practices are dubious and indicate further conflicts of interest, in particular the way in which they get funding and spend public money.

It is crazy that millions are spent on promoting & protecting drugs that can harm (adverse reactions are the 5th leading cause of death in Europe) but herbal preparations and supplements that have been used for years are to be even more restricted.

Chinese & Adeveyic medicines are worse hit, with none passed so far. The UK has passed 100 products but Adam Smith, from the Alliance for Natural Health, describes these products as pharmaceutical versions, many of which a respectful health food store will not stock.

I predict a rise in the use of herbal tea, allotments full of calendular & herbalists running preparation courses.
See the Alliance for Natural Health for new detailshttp://www.anh-europe.org/node/3113